Nonstop flight route between Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Hargeisa, Somalia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE), Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and Hargeisa Egal International Airport (HGA), Hargeisa, Somalia would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,583 miles (or 5,766 kilometers).

A Great Circle is the shortest distance between 2 points on a sphere. Because most world maps are flat (but the Earth is round), the route of the shortest distance between 2 points on the Earth will often appear curved when viewed on a flat map, especially for long distances. If you were to simply draw a straight line on a flat map and measure a very long distance, it would likely be much further than if you were to lay a string between those two points on a globe. Because of the large distance between NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component and Hargeisa Egal International Airport, the route shown on this map most likely appears curved because of this reason.

Try it at home! Get a globe and tightly lay a string between NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component and Hargeisa Egal International Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE):

• The closest airport to NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE) is Merzbrück Airfield (AAH), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) SSE of GKE.
• Because of NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component's relatively low elevation of 296 feet, planes can take off or land at NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
• The furthest airport from NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,929 miles (19,198 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Flying operations at Geilenkirchen ended in January 1968 and the installation was handed over to the German Air Force in March 1968.
• Major construction on the base initially included a new 3,000-metre runway with a width of 45 metres, as well as aprons and taxiways, a control tower, an Information Technology Wing building, on-base accommodation and major renovation of the four existing hangars.
• NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen E–3A Component (GKE) currently has only 1 runway.
• The E-3A Component directly employs more than 3,000 personnel at NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen and therefore has a significant economic impact in the surrounding communities.
• The fleet of E-3's has remained in operation since the Cold War and has adapted its mission to emerging security threats, primarily in European airspace.
• The Component’s multinational, fully integrated workforce consists of more than 3,000 military and civilian personnel from 16 NATO member nations.

Facts about Hargeisa Egal International Airport (HGA):

• The closest airport to Hargeisa Egal International Airport (HGA) is Borama Airport (BXX), which is located 70 miles (113 kilometers) WNW of HGA.
• In June 2014, the Somaliland regional government and the United States Agency for International Development inaugurated a new wind energy project at the airport.
• In 2012, the airport's routes were temporarily suspended as its runway underwent major renovations, funded by the Somaliland authorities, Kuwait Fund and USAID.
• Hargeisa Egal International Airport (HGA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Hargeisa Egal International Airport (HGA) is Atuona Airport (AUQ), which is nearly antipodal to Hargeisa Egal International Airport (meaning Hargeisa Egal International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Atuona Airport), and is located 12,225 miles (19,674 kilometers) away in Atuona, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia.
• Because of Hargeisa Egal International Airport's high elevation of 4,423 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at HGA. Combined with a high temperature, this could make HGA a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The airport was later renamed to Egal International Airport after the veteran politician Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal.